The Steady Drip
by MizWrite
Summary: Given enough time and the right temperature, even the smallest drop of water can melt a chunk of ice. Gruvia GrayxJuvia Gray POV
1. Chapter 1

**Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima. I just wanted to play in his universe for a bit. ^^ Gruvia (GrayxJuvia) fic all the way. This will be five chapters long, so I hope you'll stick with me. ^_^ **

Gray and the others had separated, as they went chasing after the members of Black Lightening, a dark guild that had been raiding towns near Magnolia for the last month. Fairy Tail finally managed to track them down, and put together a team to defeat them. But they had proven to be pretty formidable. After the groups had clashed, everyone had scattered. Natsu and Gajeel had gone after the leader, Arashi, and Gray could still hear roars of thunder, even from a distance. Lucy, Erza and Juvia looked to have gone after Rita, a mage who specialized in telepathy. And Gray was currently chasing after Gasper, a earth-manipulation mage. The coward had turned tail and run when he had caught site of the devastation caused by Natsu's fire dragon roar.

"That idiot, burning up everything in sight," Gray said to himself, as he dodged through the low hanging branches of Waas forest. "There wont be a forest left when he's done with it." Gray stopped suddenly, as he saw a clearing up ahead.

"Damn, where did he go?" Gray had lost sight of Gasper a few minutes earlier, as the earth mage had dodged a few of his attacks, and made a sharp turn. Gray had followed, but now it looked like Gasper had disappeared completely. Gray approached the clearing warily, and saw that it was a dead end that lead to a cliff overlooking the ocean below. "I lost him..."

"Not quite," a gravely voice said behind him, just before he felt something as hard as steel, but with the texture of rock whip across his face, sending him flying a dozen feet into the grass and earth. He could taste the bitterness of blood in his mouth, as he spat on the ground, and looked up at his attacker.

A short, but powerfully built man stood just outside the cover of the trees, and he had an awful grin on his face, showing a couple of missing teeth.

"Awe," he mocked, as his lips pouted comically. "Did I mess up that pretty face of yours?" referring to the cut across Gray's cheek. "Let me even it out for you."

Gray saw a circle of ground in front of Gasper suddenly become almost liquified, as a whirlpool of sand formed at the epicenter, and a large fist, nearly twelve feet tall, arose from within it.

"Let's see how you handle my Gravel Fist of Fury, Icemage," But before Gray even had a chance to think of a counterattack, a stream of water appeared from his right-hand side, and cut the fist at the wrist. It crumbled down to earth, and disappeared.

"What?!"

An out-of-breath Juvia came running into view out of the bushes, and she held out her arms protectively in front of Gray. "Juvia will not let you harm Gray-sama!"

"Juvia?!" Gray shouted angrily. "Why aren't you with Lucy and Erza?"

"Juvia couldn't let Gray-sama face this man all alone. Juvia wants to help," Juvia said simply, as she turned to him, and gave him a shy kind of smile. As her attention was diverted towards him, however, Gray saw Gasper make a move.

"Juvia, look out!" he called, but too late, as several earth-made hands had jutted out of the ground at Juvia's feet.

"That won't work on Juvia! " she said, as she stood firm. "Juvia's body is water -" But before Juvia could react, she was being smashed into a rock nearby.

"My soil absorbs water," he cackled gleefully.

Gray got to his feet, as more hands surrounded him. He felt something rough scrape his entire arm, and just as he began to freeze it with his ice-make magic, it started spinning him wildly. The ice caused the hand to snap in half, and he was propelled forward into a thorny bush. He got up, tearing off his shirt, which was entangled in the thorns, and saw that Juvia was up again, and had managed to trap Gasper in her water lock.

Gray sighed, relieved that she had trapped him, and began to walk over to them, but before he could get much closer, he noticed a thin thread of soil was quickly absorbing the water from below. Within seconds, Gapser had managed to break free of the water lock. A gravel hand now had a hold of Juvia, and seemed to be trying to crush the life out of her.

Juvia's scream of pain pierced through Gray, as he called out in fury," Ice-make sword!" and from within his hands sprang a frozen sword.

He ran at the giant hand, and was just about to slash it in two to free Juvia, when Gasper said, "I don't think so."

The earth surged up all around Gray, and he was enclosed within a dark earthy tomb, buried alive. He could still hear feint screaming in his pitch-black cell. Trying not to panic, as the screams continued, he said, "Ice-make cannon!" He held the icy weapon, and fired. The force of the large ice cannonball was enough to break a hole in the wall of the Earth that encapsulated him, but he still couldn't quite get out. However, he could see through the hole he had made, that Juvia was being thrown around like a rag doll. He had to get out of there, immediately. Gray mustered all the strength he had, and focused it on the walls around him. He froze the earth, and using his fists, shattered the walls away into nothingness. It had taken a lot of strength out of him, as the walls had been thick. He ran, panting now, toward Gasper and Juvia, but stopped suddenly, as Juvia was thrown straight at him. He braced himself, and managed to catch her, as they both flew backwards. They hit a rock behind them, Gray cushioning Juvia, as he held onto her.

Collecting himself, Gray took a good look at Juvia. She was badly cut and bruised, and her eyes were struggling to stay open.

"Gray-sama, I'm sorry," she whispered, tears in her eyes, as she lost consciousness.

Gray heard a harsh, pitiless laugh behind him, and anger surged within him.

"Gray- _sama_..." Gasper chuckled. "She is a pitiful thing, isn't she? I hate people who show weaknesses, and love is the biggest one of all."

Gray tenderly laid Juvia down, and stood in front of her. "You'll pay for what you did to her," he said in quiet anger, glaring at the short man. If looks could kill, Gasper would already be dead.

"Awe, is she your girlfriend? No, I guess not. Sama is a little too formal for that. She just wants to be, right?" he laughed again, highly amused.

"Juvia is a a member of Fairy Tail, and you're about to find out what happens when people mess with Fairy Tail," Gray growled, before putting his fist in his hand. "Ice-make lance!" he shouted, and huge pieces of ice shot out from his hands, and straight at Gasper.

Gasper dodged all but one of them, as he went tumbling to the ground. However, he recovered almost immediately, and sprang back onto his stubby feet.

_He's fast_, Gray thought, as he said, "Ice-make hammer!" A huge ice hammer came falling from nothingness right on top of Gasper, but the earth he was standing on swallowed him up, and the hammer fell onto empty solid ground instead. Gray's heart was racing, as he stood in silence, attempting to hear something that would give an indication of where Gasper had went. _Or where he'll be popping up_, Gray thought, frustrated.

And sure enough, Gasper sprang from the ground right behind him, and as Gray took a step forward, he realized the ground beneath himself had given way too. It was like he had suddenly been caught in a immense sand trap. Gray froze the sand, and shattered it, but a gravel hand flew out the earth, and knocked him backward. He got up quickly, though, just in time to see a hand had hold of Juvia's unconscious form, and was holding her suspended over the cliff.

"We must keep things tidy," Gasper said, grinning maliciously. "I don't like to leave my toys just lying around," and as he said this, the fingers of the gravel fist opened, and Juvia plummeted.

"No! Juvia!" Gray shouted, his heart racing. _She's ok. She has to be ok,_ he thought in panic. He ran towards where she had fallen, about to create a ice slide, in order to go after her. But once again, he was knocked backward by a giant fist coming out of the rocky surface of the cliff.

"You fairies just don't learn, do you? You can't win against Black Lightening," he taunted. "Don't worry, though," he said, almost reassuringly. "As soon as I'm done playing with you too, I'll happily let you join your fairy friend."

Tired, angry, frustrated, and terrified, Gray knew he had to finish off Gasper, and he had to do it now. _Juvia_, he thought.

"Ice-make-" he roared, but Gasper interrupted, wagging his finger.

"Uh, uh,uh," you're too slow, Icemake mage." And 10 hands sprang from the ground, as they dealt punch after punch on every part of Gray they could reach. "You used too much magic earlier in our group battle. Did you really think you alone were enough to take me down? Chasing after me, like you thought I'd be a push over. Arrogant fairy. You're about to pay for that mistake with your life," he said, relish in his voice, as a hand closed over Gray's throbbing, aching body.

Gray felt one of his arms snap, as the rock-hard hand attempted to crush him into a fine powder. He gritted his teeth, determined not to cry out. He didn't want to give Gasper the satisfaction. _Is this what Juvia felt when the hand had a hold of her earlier? _Gray was not about to give up, though. He had to take down Gasper. He had to stop Black Lightening. He had to find Juvia.

Just as he was attempting to muster up the little magic he had left, to freeze the hand, he felt the massive fingers slacken. Confused, he looked up to see what Gasper was doing. Gasper's mouth was hanging open, as he stared slack-jawed at a sight high above, and behind Gray. Gray turned and saw a giant woman made of water rising up from the ocean. No, that wasn't just any woman.

"Juvia?!" Gray said in shock and alarm. From the looks of things, it seemed Juvia had become one with the ocean itself, and was using the immense body of water to magnify herself.

Her large eyes were creepily translucent, but also threatening as they surveyed the scene below her. Juvia's giant water hand reached over the cliff, and grabbed a hold of Gasper, who tried, but failed dismally to escape.

Gray felt himself falling, as the gravel arm crumbled around him. He got to his feet, and stared in awe at the spectacle before him. Apparently, Juvia had taken Gasper too far from the reach of the cliff. And as the only earth around was the ocean floor, which was several thousand feet below, Gasper's magic couldn't reach to manipulate it, essentially leaving him powerless.

"Didn't Juvia say, she would not let you harm Gray-sama?" her voice was magnified too, as she spoke in a deadly calm voice to the horrified Gasper, who looked like a ugly doll in her hand. "Tempest!" she boomed.

Juvia's body became a giant swirling vortex of water, as Gasper spun around within it. It increased in speed, until stopping suddenly, and flinging Gasper from within it's depths. Gasper easily flew at least a hundred feet. He passed right over Gray's head, landing in a crumpled, unconscious heap in the thorny bushes Gray had untangled himself from earlier, crushing them to pieces. It wasn't as hard of a landing as it could have been, but from that distance and speed, Gray was sure Gasper wouldn't be ready to fight again any time soon.

Gray looked around, and saw Juvia's water vortex fade, and rejoin the ocean. He ran to the edge of the cliff, and looked down. That's when he saw Juvia's body lying on one of the rocks at the base of the cliff below.

"Ice-make slide! Gray said, as a icy slide leading down the cliff was formed. He rode it towards Juvia, hopping off onto the rock where she lay. "Juvia!"

Juvia had clearly pushed herself to her magical limit. Her breathing was very shallow, and she looked like she was putting in a great effort to remain conscious. "Is it over?" she asked, staring straight ahead at the ocean.

Her voice was so quiet, that it scared Gray. "Yes, you beat him," he said, as he lifted her up into a sitting position with his uninjured hand.

She looked at Gray, and gave a weak smile. "Juvia is glad that Gray- sama is alright," and with that her eyes closed, and her head fell unto his shoulder.

* * *

"The Master said she's lucky to be alive. Porlyusica fixed up a remedy to help her recover," Mirajane explained to the Fairy Tail members back at the guild.

"Is she still in the forest with her?" Erza asked, her face creased with worry.

"No, Porlyusica said she didn't need to stay, and she should make a full recovery. Master and Gray brought her back here. She's upstairs, asleep." Mirajane said, looking up the stairs, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"It sounds like that Gasper was the toughest of the lot," Erza said.

"I wish I could have fought him some more," Natsu expressed jealously, crossing his arms.

"Are you crazy? Didn't you see what he did to Gray and Juvia?" Lucy asked in disbelief. "Juvia had to become the ocean itself to take him down."

"That's why I wish I could have fought him!" Natsu said passionately. "Arashi turned out to be a pushover. It would have been nice to have a bigger challenge."

"Oh yeah? Is that why I had to save your butt so many times during the fight?" Gajeel grinned tauntingly.

"Who saved who's butt? I didn't need your help!" Natsu blustered, getting to his feet, his fists raised, as Gajeel did the same.

"Yeah right, flame for brains," Gajeel countered, as Lucy laughed nervously, and Erza drew out her sword, which quickly separated the two Dragon Slayers.

"That does sound like some amazing magic from Juvia, though, doesn't it?" Erza continued, as though the Natsu and Gejeel back and forth hadn't just occurred.

Mirajane nodded, smiling. "Yes. It sounds like it was a completely new technique combining her Sierra and Water Cyclone skills. Incredibly powerful." Her smile faded a bit. "But master said that she had put a severe tax on her body, and if things had continued, she would have..." she trailed off, and looked into the corner of the room, where Gray was listening, half concealed in shadow. He didn't take the opportunity to chime in, however, and instead, ignored all of them, and headed upstairs toward the guild's medical ward.

Gray opened the door to Juvia's room with his good hand, his broken arm tied in a sling. His several cuts had also already been tended to when he had taken Juvia to Porlyusica, but only after he had insisted that she look after Juvia first. He stood in the doorway for ages, as he looked at Juvia sleeping peacefully. She wasn't as bandaged as he was, but he knew her ribs had been cracked, and she had a huge gash down her left leg. However, that wasn't the worst of the damage. As Mirajane had said, using such a immensely powerful spell for the very first time, after she had already greatly depleted her magic, was incredibly reckless, and could have easily cost her, her life.

He felt a rush of anger and embarrassment within him that he couldn't fully explain to himself. He tried to shake it off, as he walked inside the ward to the end bed, and sat down on the bed beside it. He studied Juvia's still figure. Her porcelain skin was highlighted by the sun streaming in through the window. He observed her long eyelashes, which were fully visible as she slept on, and her blue hair, which she changed almost as often as her moods. She had taken to wearing it long, and flowing lately. Such a contrast from the stringent curls she had when he had first met her. It wasn't that he didn't find her attractive. Quite the opposite, as he looked at her outline from beneath the crisp white sheet. _But, still, if only she wasn't so... _

He didn't know how long he had sat there beside her, but the sun had long since receded behind the distant mountains by the time Juvia started stirring.

Her eyes flickered open, and she simply stared at the ceiling for a minute before noticing she had company.

"Gray-sa-" she started, smiling. Her tone of voice clearly showed she was happy and relieved to see him, but she was cut off by Gray, who put a finger to her lips. She blushed deeply, and quieted at once.

Gray pulled his hand away. "There are three things I have to tell you, and I don't want you interrupting," he said bluntly, and she nodded her head.

"Firstly, I'm nobody's _sama," _he said harshly. "I'm just Gray. Understand?"

Juvia's eyes were wide, and she made no reply, but the smile she had moments ago faded away.

He continued. "Secondly, you're an idiot. You could have, and would have been killed! It's only a miracle that you're not dead. Porlyusica said you far out-taxed yourself, and pushed your body beyond normal magical limitations. In other words, you went way overboard -"

"But - " she started defensively, but he quelled her with a look, and she retreated even farther beneath her covers, as just the tips of her fingers, and only everything from her nose and up could be seen of her face now.

"You went WAY OVERBOARD," he repeated again forcefully. "And why? To come after me. To help, you said? Who said I needed help? You don't think I can take care of myself?"

She quickly shook her head in fright.

"I don't want you putting yourself in danger for me. I don't want you risking your life for me," he said, and there was a fury and finality to his voice, and she didn't seem to dare argue. She merely looked at him from behind the sheet, and there was more than just fear in her eyes now. But Gray didn't want to spend the time to puzzle out what it was. Instead, he got off of the bed, and made his way to the door, before turning back, determined to say everything that was on his mind.

"And thirdly," he started, addressing the wall near the door, rather than looking back at her, so that his face was in profile, "nothing has ever come easily to me. I've had to work hard for everything I have, and everything I am. And I prefer it that way. I... I like a challenge," he said, angry at himself, as he heard his voice betray him a bit. He felt a slight heat rush to his face, and he quickly turned completely away from her.

"That's all," he finished simply, leaving tthe room and an awkward silence behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks very much to the people who reviewed/favorited/followed this story! I hope you enjoy this second chapter. ^_^**

It had been two weeks since Juvia had entered the medical ward, and two weeks since Gray had spoken with her. Mirajane had taken on the responsibility of caring for Juvia, and spent the largest amount of time with her over the past fourteen days. But, Mirajane wasn't the only one. Juvia had a steady flow of visits from the other members of the guild, including Natsu, who supposedly had challenged a taken aback Juvia to a match, wanting to fight against her "MegaJuvia" self, as he was now calling it. But, Gray had not gone back to visit Juvia. He had already said everything he had wanted to say, and if he was being honest with himself, he felt things would be weird if he had attempted to see her again. In fact, he was away from the guild more often than usual lately. He wanted to distance himself from the situation. Plus, whenever he was at the guild, he got the feeling Mirajane kept shooting him disapproving looks from the bar. It was hard to get properly drunk with the addition of judgmental glances.

He'd overslept that day, and he didn't get to the guild until well past noon. When he walked in, he headed for the bar, feeling the judgement was worth a stiff drink at the moment. "The usual," he said to Mirajane, who was cleaning out a glass. She stopped what she was doing, and began to pour his drink. When she handed it over, he again thought he saw that penetrating stare of disapproval, but she didn't say anything. and he certainly wasn't going to question her about it. He drank in silence, until obviously Mirajane could hold it in no longer.

"Why haven't you gone to visit Juvia?" she asked casually, though he could hear the slight reprimand under her normally friendly tone.

Gray didn't answer immediately, choosing to take a long sip of his drink instead. When he thought he couldn't safely stay silent any longer, however, as Mirajane was quicker to slip into demon-mode these days, he answered. "I did visit."

"Once?" she said, not bothering to cover her irritation this time."You've been avoiding her."

Gray didn't answer. He went to take another long drink when Mirajane's hand covered the top of his cup, preventing him from doing so. He put the glass down, and looked at her. "What?"

"I'll tell you what. She's been miserable. She tries to hide it, but I can tell," she said, keeping her hand firmly clasped over his glass.

"Why's that my fault?" Gray asked, a little defensively.

"Because every time I so much as mention you, her eyes fill with tears. And I'm sure it's because you haven't gone to see her again. Juvia doesn't have that many people she feels close to, and it would be nice if the people she was close to, made more of an effort," Mirajane said reproachfully.

Gray was about to argue about how he wasn't close to Juvia, but that would have probably made Mirajane even angrier, and he didn't like the sound of it himself. He stared at her determined face for a few seconds, and then sighed. " Fine, I'll go visit her today," he said grudgingly.

Mirajane finally let go of his glass, and clapped her hands together happily. "Great!" she said, back to her usual cheerful self again.

Gray drained the last of his drink, and got up from the bar, and headed for the stairs leading to the medical ward.

"Where are you going?" Mirajane called at him.

"To visit Juvia," he said slowly. _Did they not just discuss this_, he thought.

"She's not there. She's all cured, so Erza accompanied her back to the Fairy Hills dormitory this morning," she explained, still smiling.

Gray stared at her, dumbfounded. "Then, why did you tell me to go visit her?!"

"You could still visit at the dormitory. You just have to speak with Erza first, to ask for permission," Mira said, smiling even more broadly.

Gray fumed silently, but decided not to say anything. Instead, he walked right out of the guild to get away from Mira's annoyingly kind face.

As if he was going to now go to the dormitories. He'd never even been there before, and he certainly wasn't going to go just to see Juvia, when he didn't even want to visit her in the first place. But... and Mira's words reverberated through his head: _every time I so much as mention you, her eyes fill with tears. _

Guilt took hold of him. _But! Juvia was always like that, _he reasoned with himself. She was overly emotional, and would often flit between highs and lows at the drop of a hat. It didn't necessarily have to do with him. So, then why was he subconsciously walking in the direction of the Fairy Hills dorms?

Just as he realized this, and made to turn back, he caught site of Erza heading from the dorms in his direction. Gray raised a hand in greeting, but Erza didn't reciprocate. Instead, she walked right up to him, and stuck her finger squarely into his chest.

"Owww! What was that for?!" he asked, alarmed at the look on her face.

"Juvia!" she said.

_Not another one_, he thought. "What now," he said, sounding resigned.

"Did you, or did you not tell her you thought she was an idiot?"

Gray flushed. "I..."

"Did you?" she asked again, poking him even more forcefully. He was sure she had just left a bruise.

He scratched his head uncomfortably. "I suppose I did," he admitted, bracing himself.

But she didn't hit him. She merely stared at him, her face full of disapproval, and even a little pity. "Why?" she asked. "Because she went to help you?"

"She should have stayed with you and Lucy," he said, getting riled up again. "Why did she have to tag along after me for?"

"Because she loves you," she said simply, and there was a sad smile on her face.

Gray felt heat rise to his face, and he looked away from her, preferring to look at the dusty road instead, until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I know you know that," she stated.

He chose not to confirm, or deny this, as just hearing the words aloud made him feel uncomfortable.

"And if you are worried about her, there were nicer ways to say it than that," and her look was a little too understanding for his liking.

"Yeah, I know, I just got..."

"Carried away?" she said helpfully.

He nodded, still not quite meeting her eyes.

"Well," she started cheerfully, "you know what you have to do then. You have to apologize."

Gray sighed. "Yeah, ok," he agreed, but felt a bit resentful nonetheless.

"Good! Admitting when you're wrong separates the boys from the men, after all," she stated matter-of-factly.

Gray controlled himself from rolling his eyes. She was now reminding him of Elfman. Instead he said, "well, I was actually coming here to speak with Juvia. I just need your permission to visit her room."

Erza stared at him in bemusement. "She's not there."

"Huh?" he said stupidly.

"No, we went out for some fresh air and a chat, and we ran into Gejeel on the way. He said he was about to go out on a job, and Juvia insisted on going with him. Something about wanting to get back into the swing of things," she explained.

Gray said nothing. Feeling absolutely annoyed and disgusted, he turned silently, and headed back toward the town. He was going straight to the boys dorm, and he was not coming out again, until girls stopped being so crazy.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks again to everyone who reviewed/faved/followed this story! Juvia's back in this chapter, and things are about to start picking up again. ^_^**

Nearly a month had passed since Juvia had left the medical ward, and Gray still had yet to see her. It took a whole week before Juvia had even returned from her job with Gajeel. But he had only found that out from Gajeel himself, because Juvia had been MIA, or at least she was whenever Gray happened to be around. Anytime he got curious enough to ask about her, it would turn out that he had always either just missed her, or she was out on another job. He had decided against trying at the girl's dorm again, because he felt weird calling at her place of residence. He also felt it would be less awkward if they were in a more social setting. But, it turned out that running into her at the guild wasn't going to be as likely as he had thought. Knowing that Gray had yet to speak with Juvia, Mirajane was still disapproving, but less so when he attempted to ask after the water mage. According to Mira, when Juvia was there, she would always come in very early in the morning, and as Gray was known not to stir until close to eleven, it wasn't surprising that he wasn't seeing her around. However, was it also possible that Juvia knew his usual schedule, and perhaps she was avoiding him?

Whatever the case, Gray was thoroughly fed up. What with Juvia's strange new workaholic attitude and Mira and Erza's continued, and often forceful encouragement to talk things out with Juvia, he was very close to just telling both Erza and Mirajane to shove their advice where the sun don't shine. As far as Gray was concerned, he had been guilted into this quest for forgiveness, or whatever the hell he was suppose to do. And as Juvia seemed determined to keep out of his sight, who was he to force himself upon her? Plus, for all he knew, she probably had gotten over the events in the medical ward, and this new go-getter attitude was her way of celebrating her complete peace with the situation. Or, at least that's what Gray liked to tell himself. For his part, aside from his, what he thought were, noble attempts to track down Juvia, he was also keeping relatively busy. He had gone on five jobs himself in the past month - three on his own, and two with the usual team, though each of those times he regretted it immensely, as he spent nearly the entire job trying to avoid Erza's lectures.

_Anyway_, he thought to himself, as he sat enjoying his frank and beans lunch at the table next to Macao and Wakaba, who were only a few seats down from him,_ it will probably turn out that Erza and Mira escalated this whole Juvia thing way out of proportion. _And then he thought of Juvia's face as he was talking to her in the ward, and a sick, guilty feeling sprang up within him. _Juvia... she always misses the important things,_ he thought, feeling thoroughly misunderstood.

"Juvia!" Mira called out from the bar, and Gray's head snapped around so fast, he thought he might have just given himself whiplash.

Sure enough, the elusive Juvia was strolling down the bar, waving merrily at Mirajane, who welcomed her warmly. But, was this Juvia? She looked different. Her hair was pulled back into a long, wavy ponytail, and she was wearing a form-fitting, royal blue t-shirt, with a low-cut neckline, and a pair of black shorts that sat low on her waist, but cut off high on her thighs. She also had on a pair of rugged, and somewhat worn ankle-length boots. It was certainly a change from the more conservative, feminine Juvia, who was often in fur-lined shawls, and long dresses.

Juvia waved at several guild members, who greeted her on her way to Mira.

"How did the job go?" Mirajane asked.

"Really well! Juvia even got a bonus for dealing with a unexpected Balkan," she said, sounding a bit embarrassed.

"Wow Juvia! Congratulations!" Mira said excitedly.

"Thanks! Juvia just got lucky," she said modestly, blushing a bit.

"Don't be silly. Do you want something to drink?'

"Thanks, but not right now," she said distractedly, looking over at the request board, before heading towards it.

As soon as Juvia had moved away, Gray took note of Mira's meaningful glances at him, but ignored them.

"You know what, I never really fully realized what a fine looking woman Juvia is."

Gray turned to see Wakaba looking at Juvia in appreciation.

"Yeah..." Macao started, also looking at Juvia, before doing a double take at Wakaba. "She's young enough to be your daughter. Heck, she's young enough to be your granddaughter now!" Macao said, amused.

"And you're the same age as me, so you're not one to talk," he said indignantly.

"Yeah, but _I'm _not married," he pointed out.

"Details, details..." Wakaba waved him off.

Gray turned away from them, slightly annoyed.

Juvia had a paper in her hand, and was back at the bar again.

"You're leaving on another job already?" Mira said in surprise.

"Yes, Juvia has been interested in this one for a while, and as Juvia is riding a bit of a high right now, why not take a shot at it?" Juvia said, shrugging off Mira's worried expression in a carefree kind of way.

Gray could just make out the picture on the job request form from where he was sitting. His eyes narrowed.

"But, aren't you tired? Hungry? Don't you need some time to refuel?" Mira questioned, clearly in the hope of deterring Juvia's hastiness.

Juvia smiled at Mira. "Juvia had a whole day to rest. Part of Juvia's bonus was a huge feast at the mansion of the woman who posted the job, and Juvia got to spend the night in luxury. So, Juvia is completely rejuvenated. Promise," she added reassuringly.

'But that job-" and before Mira could say anything more, Juvia was already halfway down the hall.

"See you in a few days!" she waved in farewell, and exited the guild without a backwards glance.

Gray felt something, like a piece of lead, drop into the pit of his stomach. He didn't even bother to look at Mira, as he stood up, and followed Juvia out.

Gray's silly hopes of Juvia having gotten over what Gray had said to her had evaporated into nothingness. Juvia hadn't dealt with her feelings at all. She was trying to drown them in work, and now, it seemed, she was throwing herself into a suicide mission.

"Juvia." Gray had caught up with her just outside the gateway of the guild.

Juvia stopped immediately, but did not turn around.

"Yes, _Gray_?" she said, perfectly cordially, but Gray took note of the emphasis put on his name. He also noticed the lack of "sama" immediately. And, hating himself, he had to admit, it stung somewhat. But why? He had told her, didn't he? He didn't want her calling him that anymore. So, why then did it bother him so much?

Shaking the conflicting feelings off, he continued. "I think you should ask Gajeel to come with you on that job," he stated bluntly.

She turned to look at him. "And why should Juvia do that?" she asked, still perfectly friendly, but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes, which bore into him.

"I've been considering that job for a couple of weeks now myself. It's incredibly dangerous. I'd say it's one tiny step away from S-class. In fact, why it's not on that board instead, I don't know," he said seriously.

Her smile faded. "Oh, so it's ok if you want to take this job on, but not Juvia, is that it? I will remind you that Juvia was one of the Element Four, after all."

"What? No! I know that! I just meant, that if you're going to do this job, then it would be better to have a partner. I thought you liked working with Gajeel," he said, trying to keep things tension free, but clearly failing horribly at the task.

Juvia looked away from him, crossing her arms, as if trying to protect herself from something. "Well, Gajeel-kun is away on a job, and wont be back until the end of the week, and Juvia is not waiting until then," she said stubbornly. "So, are we done here? Juvia has a train to catch," she added, cutting off whatever other suggestions he might have been about to make, by turning her back to him. As she whipped around, her blue ponytail bounced around behind her, and she headed onto the main street.

The words were out of Gray's mouth before he even realized what he was doing,"I'm coming with you," he called after her.

She froze in her tracks. She turned her head around, and saw his hard, but determined expression. For a second, Gray was sure she was about to protest. He thought he saw her mouth open a fraction of an inch, and then close again.

Then, without looking at him, she said indifferently, "do whatever you like," and continued walking.

Gray, silently cursing himself for his snap decision, hurried to catch up to the water mage, who seemed intent on making his life far more complicated than he wished it was. This was going to be a very uncomfortable trip, in many, many ways.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks again to all who reviewed/faved/followed! It means a lot that you guys like the story. ^-^ There's only one more chapter after this one, so we're heading towards the finish now. I hope you guys enjoy! ^_^**

With only a short stop so that Gray and Juvia could collect their traveling packs, they boarded a train at the station. The job that Juvia and Gray were about to take on involved eradicating the mountain area near the capital city of Fiore from an infestation of wyvern, who've been stealing the city's food supplies. One wyvern on it's own wasn't an issue, but a potential huge horde of them was another matter entirely, and one mage alone couldn't hope to manage the task unscathed. And thus, Gray, against his better judgement, was now sitting on a train across from Juvia, headed towards the capital. As he knew it would be, the trip thus far had been punctuated with silence after silence. Gray attempted at first to strike up polite small talk with Juvia, but when met with one-word responses, he desisted, and instead took to staring out the window at the passing scenery. Juvia was busying herself doing the same, and only turned away from the window when the food cart came by, so she could buy a lunch. Gray copied her, and grabbed some food himself. As they ate, Gray again tried, and failed to start some friendly conversation, and once Juvia had finished her meal, she went right back to staring out of the window.

The train ride was long, and awkward, and thus when the train finally reached their stop, Gray was only too happy to leave it's confines. At least now, they could get to the job they had to do, without worrying about filling dead space with chit chat. The problem, however, was that it was now dark out, and there wasn't much they could do until the morning. Gray was about to suggest that they find a hotel in the city, and start fresh the next day, but Juvia spoke up first.

"We should head north from the city. The mountains are no more than a few miles from here," she said, studying a map in her hands.

Gray stared at her. "Juvia, it's dark out. We'll get lost. I think we'd be better off staying somewhere for the night, and then head out again with the sun," Gray said reasonably.

Juvia gave him a hard, cold stare. "Go ahead, Juvia will make her way to the mountains, and you can come do your part after you've rested from your tiring train ride. Juvia will leave one or two wyvern for you to handle whenever you're up for it."

Gray flushed angrily. She was being ridiculous, and just saying things to piss him off now. "Fine," he said hotly. "We'll do things your way. But don't blame me when we're lost in a blizzard."

"The cold does not harm Juvia," she said matter-of-factly.

Gray didn't know why, but he kind of thought she wasn't talking about the weather. In any case, he followed her, as she led their way out of the city.

As they headed toward the mountains, the temperature continued to decrease dramatically. Being an ice-make mage, this did not bother Gray a bit, as his training with Ur taught him great resistance against the cold. It was part of him now, and he preferred it to warmer weather. Juvia, no matter what she said, on the other hand, was showing a lot more skin than he was, and that couldn't be helping her stay warm. But, even if that was the case, she wasn't betraying even a slight bit of discomfort. Gray kept shooting her covert looks, trying to catch the signs of gooseflesh, but her skin stayed perfectly smooth as she continued to refer to the map.

It had to be well passed eleven now, and the mountains looked to be farther away than before in his opinion. Juvia, who had been a little ahead of him, stopped momentarily to survey their surroundings. Gray took the chance to speak up again. "Are you sure we're headed the right way?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes," she said, without looking up from the map. "Juvia and the Element Four had broken up a dark guild who dwelled in these mountains a couple of years ago. There's a circular path that leads up to them, but Juvia now recalls that the path is a farther distance than she had originally thought."

Gray stared at her, confused. "So... what does that mean for us now?"

"Juvia thinks it would be a good idea to set up camp here, and wait until morning," and without waiting for him to reply, she marched over to a large tree that looked to be one of the oldest in the forest, and lay down her bag.

Gray sighed. He was annoyed that, while he could have been spending the night on a soft bed, he now had to camp out on a hard dirt floor. Although the prospect of that didn't bother him nearly as much as spending even more time alone with Juvia. At least in a hotel, he would have had his own room, and could escape her sullen mood for a while. Come to think of it, he was surprised it hadn't started raining, considering her current disposition.

Reluctantly, he walked over to her, and placed his bag down too.

"Juvia thinks we should start a fire," she said, looking around for spare bits of wood.

"Typical, when you actually need Natsu for something, he's never around," he said, half amused, half annoyed. "I'll go collect some wood."

He was able to find a few good-sized twigs and branches, and welcomed the time away from Juvia in order to also collect his thoughts. He knew he had to talk to her. He needed to clear the air, but she was being extremely unhelpful. He'd just have to press on, whether she was cooperating or not. With new determination, he headed back to the camp, noticing on his way that it had started to snow.

"It's snowing, you know," he said, pointing out the obvious as he rejoined her. While he was away, Juvia had laid out a sleeping bag, and was now sitting on top of it, with her legs tucked underneath her.

"Juvia knows, but the tree is providing a lot of coverage, so even if it gets heavier, this area should stay mostly snow free," she explained, pointing up to the many leaves and branches above them, creating a foliage ceiling of sorts.

"Right," he said, dumping the heap of wood in the center of their makeshift camp.

Juvia got out a small twig she had found, and stood it up on the largest of the branches Grey had brought back. She then started rubbing it between her hands, as the twig spun back and forth, creating friction where the two pieces of wood met. To Gray's surprise, Juvia had managed to start a fire within a few short minutes.

"Wow, you're good at that," Gray said, impressed, and he thought he detected feint red patches appear on Juvia's pale cheeks.

"Juvia has experience making fires. It was part of her water training to be able to put them out. But Juvia was always working against the rain," and Gray could hear sadness creep into her voice.

He studied her as she blew on the small fire, encouraging it to grow.

"Well, it's pretty cool the way you can control the weather like that, isn't it?" Gray said kindly, but to his surprise, a dark look spread across Juvia's face.

"Juvia thought Gray said the rain was _depressing,_" and Gray heard her voice turn icy. That's when he noticed, that while the snow was now covering a fair bit of their surroundings, and even his clothing, Juvia was snowflake free. He saw that any snow that would fall on her would melt almost immediately. It did this even on her clothing, which he found kind of odd.

He diverted his attention away from this phenomenon however, and tried to recall. "D-Did I?" he stuttered, not liking where this conversation was headed.

"Yes, when we first met, you told Juvia her rain was depressing," she reminded him, while avoiding his gaze.

"Oh, well, yeah, sometimes, I guess, but it's also pretty beautiful too, right? I mean, without rain, none of this would exist," he said, indicating all the nature around them.

She looked at him at last, and there was a tentative, but also hopeful expression in her eyes.

"Nothing can grow without water," he continued. "And without water," he paused, holding his hand out, as a snowflake landed on his palm. He froze it, increasing it's size ten times over, so that it was now an exact replica of it's smaller self - a beautiful ice sculpture, encapsulating the wonders of nature. "My powers wouldn't even exist," he finished, handing it to her.

She took it, studying the intricate shapes, a small smile on her face. "I think your power is really beautiful too," she said in a small voice, still keeping her eyes on the snowflake. 'Ice... Water made solid."

Gray said nothing to this, and they lapsed into another silence, though nowhere near as awkward as their previous ones that day. After a good ten minutes had passed, and the fire had grown considerably, feeding off of the other pieces of wood, Gray looked over to her, and said, curiously, "what's with the outfit, anyway?" He had meant, why was the snow evaporating when it made contact with it, but Juvia took it to mean something different.

"Oh, well," she said, shrugging, "Juvia just felt like a change. After our fight with Gasper, Juvia realized that her clothes were a hinderance, preventing her from moving around quicker. Juvia thought these would free up her movement, and help her be more efficient in her attacks," she said, embarrassed. Probably because they hadn't talked about the fight with Gasper since she was in the medical ward, and now that conversation was back in her mind.

Gray quickly tried to change the subject, saying the first thing that popped into his head. "Well, don't let Lyon see you like that, you'll never be able to get rid of him."

Juvia's eyes widened, and she blushed, but said nothing.

Gray suddenly realized what he was implying, and felt a rush of heat in his own face. He continued quickly, however, not knowing why he was saying this, or to what purpose, "I know he can be pretty annoying sometimes, but he's actually a pretty good guy," he admitted grudgingly. "I looked up to him when we were training under Ur, and he may be a bit misguided sometimes, but overall he's got a good heart. And," unable to stop himself, he added, "he likes you a lot, you know."

She was still blushing furiously, and had lifted her legs up to hold them tightly to her chest. Gray could see the firelight dancing in her blue eyes, as she addressed it, instead of him. "He's very... nice, but Juvia is interested in someone else." There was no shyness when she said this, and she looked to be deep in thought about something.

Gray felt himself definitely blushing now. He knew who she was talking about. It was now or never. "Look, Juvia, about what I said in the medical -"

But before Gray could get his sentence out, Juvia, clearly not listening to him, suddenly spoke up again. "Juvia could have beaten you, you know. When we first met," she said, turning to look at him intently, the flush in her face more so from her proximity to the fire now, than embarrassment.

Gray was taken aback by this pronouncement, and he felt the stirring of competition rise up within him. "You think so, huh?"

"Definitely," she said, balling her hand into a fist, and crushing the snowflake Gray had given her earlier into shards of ice. "Juvia did not perform at her best on that occasion."

Gray was perturbed by this sudden change in mood, but this was Juvia after all. "Yeah," he said thoughtfully. "You did seem kind of distracted at the time."

At these words, Juvia's whole face reddened, but she seemed even more determined. "Juvia wont let that happen again," she said, getting to her feet.

Gray looked up at her, unnerved. "What are you saying? You want a fight?"

"Unless you're afraid of Juvia," she taunted, and a confident grin like Gray had never seen before, spread over her face.

"Not a chance," he said, his blood pumping. and Gray sprang to his feet as well. "Wait. We're seriously going to do this?" he said, unsure, but excited about the prospect of letting off some of his pent up frustration over this whole Juvia situation.

"Seriously," she affirmed still grinning.

He grinned back, pumped up. "Bring it on!"

"Care to make it interesting?" she asked, and her grin had suddenly become more mischievous.

"Like a bet?" he asked, confused.

"Yes," she confirmed.

Gray thought about it for a few seconds, before shrugging, "Why not. If I win, you have to... clean my dorm room for a MONTH," he said, grinning broadly. He hated cleaning.

"Deal," she agreed, and he saw her take a offensive stance.

"Hey, wait a minute!" he said, his hands waving. "What about if you win?"

Juvia stared at him, a purposeful expression on her face. "That's a secret," she said slyly.

Gray had an uneasy feeling in his stomach, but he brushed it off. "One that I'll never find out," he said confidently, implying he'll win.

"We'll see," and her hands suddenly turned into two streams of water.


	5. Chapter 5

**Once again, thanks so much to all who reviewed/faved/followed this little story. It's much appreciated! This is the last chapter, so I hope you like it! **

Talking things out with Juvia, and resolving feelings were things that were pretty foreign and uncomfortable for Gray, but battling was something he understood. As all unsettled emotions momentarily dispersed, he put his fist on his palm, and yelled, "Ice-make lance!"

Streams of ice shot out at Juvia, but the ones that reached her went straight through her, and the others were cut to pieces by her water cane attack.

"That did not work against Juvia the first time, and it wont work now,' Juvia called.

Gray, anticipating her attack, spread out a giant ice shield in front of him just in time to stop her water slicer from reaching him.

However, not taking a moments breath, Juvia yelled, "water nebula!"

A burst of water came at Gray, but he froze it immediately, and, using his ice-make sword, slashed the frozen water to pieces, sending sharp shards of ice flying in Juvia's direction. Caught off guard, the ice hit her, and for a moment, Gray forgot that they were in a battle. He stopped everything, worried that he had hurt her, but when he got a good look at her, he realized that the moment the ice had come in contact with Juvia's body, it melted into pools of water at her feet.

"Not bad," he said, wiping away some sweat, "but we're in my element, Juvia," and he pointed at the snow flecked sky above them. "And I'm only just getting started." He ripped off his shirt, and shouted, "ice-make, snowflake boulders!"

Juvia looked up, and saw that the snowflakes above her head had increased in size and mass immensely, and were currently pelting down at her. "And _you_ forget," she started, her body transforming into pure water, "That you can't have snow without rain."

She rushed upward in a stream, and Gray could see steam coming off of her, as she met the large ice boulders head on. They evaporated as they touched the boiling water, and she absorbed them. In mid-air, Juvia switched positions, and headed straight at Gray.

Gray grinned. This was what he had been waiting for. He readied himself to freeze her in her tracks. But, what had been a stream of water, suddenly turned into a massive wave, as she continued to absorb the snow around her on her way toward him. Gray, bracing himself, cried out "Freeze!" He knew at once it was no good, the water was so hot, it scorched him, as Juvia's water form washed over him, and he found himself trapped, and surrounded by water.

Holding his breath, he realized he was floating. He tried to focus, but it was boiling, and the lack of oxygen was making his head spin. And then, within the water, Juvia's torso, arms and head appeared, still transparent, a part of the water she was conjuring. She neared his panicked face, and took hold of it in her hands, her nose nearly touching his. He could feel his heart racing, and he wanted to get away from her, and yet didn't at the same time.

"Nothing can freeze my water when it's burning passionately," she explained, her voice echoing around him. Her eyes looked into his wide ones, and then flickered down to his lips. "Did you know that more than half of the human body is made up of water, Gray?" And she kissed him. Her lips surprisingly were not wet, but warm, and substantial as she parted his mouth with her own.

Gray immediately felt his body flooding with an intense warmth he had never known before. But it wasn't unpleasant, or painful. It was quite the opposite, actually. It was like sitting in front of a cozy fire, or eating deliciously warm soup after being out in the cold all day. He felt tingly all over, and as if his heart was swelling with emotion he wasn't even sure belonged to him. And then, before he could do anything, her lips had left his, and he found himself immobile. He tried to move even a finger, but found he couldn't. She had taken his body over. Her water form smiled at him as understanding swept over his face.

"I win," she said simply, and the water spell that had engulfed him, disappeared in a instant, as he fell to the ground on his back, gasping and panting.

Trying to regain his breath, he stared up at the night sky, and realized that it had stopped snowing. His heart was pounding from the intensity of the battle, and the things he had felt when Juvia flooded through him. Juvia stepped into view over him. She also seemed a bit out of breath, but otherwise, completely unharmed.

There was a triumphant look on her face. "What's wrong, did you become _distracted?" _she shot at him, grinning wickedly_. _

He knew she was mocking him, but he couldn't help himself grinning back. "You could say that."

She giggled, and took a seat next to him on the ground, and lay down so that they were both now staring up at the stars. They didn't say anything for a while, until Juvia finally broke the silence.

"So, _was_ this enough of a challenge for you, Gray?" she asked quietly, and he turned to look at her in surprise.

Was she talking about what he thought she was talking about? She was blushing again, and that seemed to confirm that it was not just the battle she was referring to. So, she had understood what he had meant in the medical ward after all.

She turned on her side to face him, propping herself up on her elbow. Looking a bit embarrassed, as she played with a wet blade of grass on the ground, she said, "look, Juvia knows that she comes on a bit too strong sometimes... or a lot of the time," she conceded, sighing. "Juvia just doesn't believe in playing games. If she feels a certain way, she... No," she corrected herself, "_I_ can't help it. I'm just an emotional person, and if there's someone I care deeply about, I'm going to let them know," she stated seriously, still talking to the grass. "If I've learned anything, it's that nothing good comes from bottling up your feelings. But, most importantly, I want the person I care about to be happy, even if that happiness isn't found with me..." she trailed off.

Gray stared at her as she finally met his eyes again, and there was a fierceness there as she balled up her hand into a fist.

"However, no matter what, I'll always rush to your side, because, we're not just guild mates... You saved me first, and I will never forget that. You saved me from the rain in my heart," she said intensely, and her eye's sparkled with unshed tears.

Gray once again felt the warmth engulf him from the inside out, as Juvia abruptly raised herself up from the ground.

"Anyway," she started awkwardly, dusting the wet grass from her legs. "We have a job to do tomorrow, se we should get some rest. It's probably really la-"

He cut her off by standing up to grab her hand. She looked surprised at his touch, as he pulled her towards him, and into a kiss. She was still just as warm as she had been within the water, but was also soft, as he felt her press up against his own body. His hand cupped her face, and he felt her arms wrap around his neck, as the kiss deepened.

They pulled away after a minute, to breath in the cool night air again, and Juvia looked up wonderingly into Gray's smiling face, her eyes shining. "Gray..."

Gray scratched his head embarrassedly, and seprated himself from Juvia. "I reckon we could get at least a good six hours of sleep before we head off again," he said, avoiding her gaze, and heading towards the fire.

He heard her make a small sound of agreement, as she followed behind him. As Gray lay out his own sleeping bag, and Juvia got into hers, a thought occurred to him. "Hey, Juvia?"

"Yes, Gray?" she said, smiling across from him around the dancing flames of the fire.

"Would you do me a favor when we get back to the guild, and let Mirajane and Erza know that we talked, and that everything is ok between us now?"

Juvia blinked confusedly. "Um, sure," she said.

Gray felt another weight lift from within him, and with his heart a million times lighter than it had ever been, he said, "Good. Thanks," and he wished the confused Juvia a good night. But, just as he was about to close his eyes, he remembered something else. "Hey, the bet! You never told me what it was you wanted," he said, looking over at her again.

She smiled a little too excitedly for Gray's liking, and said mysteriously "Oh, Juvia will think of something," before turning on her side, and wishing him a good night as well.

Gray's feeling of uneasiness was slowly creeping back, but he decided that he'd worry about it tomorrow. Within minutes, he drifted off into a deep, dream-filled sleep that involved a water woman chipping her way through the ice.

**The End**

**I hope you guys liked it. ^^ My intent with this story was to stay as faithful to the character's personalities as possible, while still making a situation where, if the story had a slightly more romantic focus, could possibly happen. With Gray and Juvia, I think the biggest barrier is that Gray is overwhelmed by Juvia a lot of the time. It's not that he doesn't like her. He's just more easy-going, while she's so intense haha! Although, I do just want to smack him upside the head sometimes, just because Juvia is my fav character, and to say that Gray could do a lot worse than Juvia would be an understatement. Speaking of which, as you may have noticed, I left this story a little open-ended, and I've actually already started writing a bit of a sequel to this. So, let me know if you guys are interested in a continuation, and thanks again for reading! ^_^**


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